Patrick Byrne, who is CEO and chairman of overstock.com, has taken a medical leave of absence from te company. This decision will influence the community working to advance bitcoin and the bitcoin blockchain.
In the last 30 years, Byrne has undergone more than a hundred surgeries, suffering from cancer and related heart problems. Last year he battled a recurrence of Hepatitis C, which he first contracted in China in the 80’s. Byrne said: “I’ve been really gutting it out over the past few months.”
In discussing his leave, Byrne said he isn’t worried about the well-being of Overstock, but shows ample remorse for being unable to continue his work with the blockchain. Byrne is referring to its rise as an “extinction event” for the financial industry.
Byrne’s decision to take a leave of absence from Overstock will affect the comprehensive community working to advance bitcoin and the blockchain the most. Overstock was the first major retailer to accept payments in bitcoin under the guidance of Patrick Byrne.
After his leave of absence some doubt Overstock’s blockchain ambitions, but Byrne said: “I’ve worked really hard to get this revolution going in the right direction.”